HOW TO: iPod Classic (6G) with Amarok 1.4 (Hardy Heron)

Problem:
While most of these issues have been fixed in Intrepid, the iPod still remains problematic in Linux. This is a guide I have put together on the most effective way of using the black 80gb iPod Classic with Amarok 1.4 in Hardy Heron (although it could apply to any distribution).

NB: Going to start RIGHT at the begining, so I am assuming that you have ALL your music somewhere on your computer, and not just on your iPod.

Solution:

Cleaning out your iPod
1. Connect the iPod.
2. It should appear in nautilus (if it does not, see below)
3. Browse to the iPod folder.
4. You should see the following folders: Calendars, Contacts, iPod_Control, Notes, Recordings.
5. Delete everything (NB: This erases you're iPod to factory settings erasing everything, including Music, Pictures, Videos, and Contacts)
6. Eject you're iPod.
7. Wait a bit and the apple logo should appear on the iPod
8. Select you're desired language.

If you're iPod did not automount do the following:

1. Create a folder in the media directory:

$sudo mkdir /media/iPod2

2. Check where the iPod is mounted:

$sudo fdisk -l

When you find the iPod (it should be FAT) make a note of what it says (e.g. /dev/sdf)

3. Type in the following

$sudo mount /dev/sdf /media/iPod2

(Where /dev/sdf/ is the location of the iPod from step 2).

Amarok and Libgpod3

For Hardy Heron and newer:

1. In a terminal:

$sudo apt-get install amarok

For Gutsy Gibbon and older:

1. First to install the latest libgpod, in a terminal enter the following:

$sudo -i

$cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.tmp

$echo deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy main restricted universe multiverse >> /etc/apt/sources.list

$apt-get update

$aptitude install libgpod3 libgpod-common

2. Installing amarok (NB: if you already had amarok this will overwrite everything!)

$aptitude install amarok

3. Removing the old libgpod

$aptitude remove libgpod

(this may prompt you to remove the ubuntu-desktop package, don't worry - it's only a meta-package)

4. Remove the newly added source

$rm /etc/apt/sources.list

$mv /etc/apt/sources.list.tmp /etc/apt/sources.list

$apt-get update

Setting up Amarok

1. Here I assume you know how to use amarok (i.e. adding music, doing your own customisations, etc).

2. After you have done all that connect up your iPod.

3. Go to devices and your iPod should appear here (you may have to click connect) - you will be asked to "Initialize your iPod", say OK"

4. Set your iPod model by going to iPod (just below main toolbar on top)>Set iPod Model>Classic>80gb or 160GB (black or silver).

5. Next go to collection and right click on whatever songs you want to transfer and select transfer to media device.

6. Next go back to device tab and select transfer (from the top).

Disconnecting

1. Click on the gears next to where it says iPod, this should open up a dialog for mounting and post-disconnect commands.

2. Leave the mount command blank and put the following in the disconnect box:

eject -t -d %d

3. Click OK

4. WAIT for everything to complete (including on the bottom statusbar of Amarok which should say Flushing iPod Cache).

5. When everything seems to have stopped click on iPod>Update Artwork (this may take a while depending on the number of songs, but after it is done you will see Artwork updated on the bottom).

6. Click disconnect, it should say device successfully disconnected.

7. Now right-click on the iPod icon (either in nautilus or on the desktop, and select eject).

NB: All of this worked for me and my iPod is running fine with music AND videos.

HOW TO: Add fonts

Problem:
Lets say you have just downloaded a .tff font file, but don't know how to use it within OpenOffice.

Solution:
1. Browse to your home directory (e.g. /home/bob/)

2. Click on "View" and tick the "Show Hidden Files" option.

3. Now a bunch of folders should become visible.

4. Look for the ".fonts" folder. If you cannot find it, create it.

5. Copy the .tff font files into this folder.

6. Restart OpenOffice

Good resource for fonts: www.dafont.com

HOW TO: Make Ubuntu look like Mac OSX

Problem:
While Ubuntu's theme is great, I personally prefer the slick brushed metal look of a mac. This is a quick guide on how to change Ubuntu's theme to make it look like Mac OSX:
Solution:

1. Go to:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/mac4lin/ and download the mac4lin package.

2. Right-click on the downloaded file and click "Extract here"

3. Open a terminal and browse to the newly created folder:

$cd Mac4Lin_v1.0_RC1

4. Execute the install script:

$./Mac4Lin_Install_v1.0_RC.sh

Thats it, just follow the prompts!

HOW TO: Compile from source

Problem:

While Linux (and especially Ubuntu) have come a long way, there are still times when installing a new program requires it to be compiled from source.

Solution:
1. Usually when you download a program that needs to be compiled it comes zipped. Therefore, you need to run the following command from the terminal t0 unzip it:

$ tar -xvf packagename.tar.gz

(usually the package will be in the tar.gz format, but it may not so you may have to change the extension)


2. Naviagte to the newly created folder:

$cd packagename

3. Now use the following commands to begin the compiling process:

$ sudo apt-get install build-essential
$ ./configure
$ sudo make

(NB: the ./configure command may fail as many packages do not have that specific file, ignore it).

4. Now you have two options as to how you want to compile, you can use the old method which will simply compile the program, or the newer method which compiles the program and creates a .deb package which you can then use to install the program. The advantage of the later method is that a .deb package is much simpler to install (just double-click on it, like a windows .exe file) and the .deb package will be in your package manager (e.g. synaptic) so you can easy uninstall it from here.

a) Old Method:

$sudo make install

b) New Method:

$sudo checkinstall

The program should now be installed!